Law Professor to Chair Federal Trademark Committee

Akron, Ohio, Aug. 14, 2003 — A University of Akron School of Law professor has been named chair of a federal advisory committee overseeing trademark policies.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald E. Evans has appointed Jeffrey M. Samuels as chair of the Trademark Public Advisory Committee of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Samuels — director of the School of Law's Center for Intellectual Property and Technology, David L. Brennan Professor of Law and Intellectual Property Center Fellow — will be sworn in to his new position at an Aug. 26 ceremony in Washington, D.C. His three-year term began July 15.

“The University of Akron School of Law is thrilled with Jeff's appointment — it is truly an honor to be invited to serve on the Trademark Public Advisory Committee,” says Dean Richard L. Aynes. “Jeff's appointment will help further USPTO in its mission to provide the highest quality of service to individuals who utilize the trademark system.”

The nine-member group advises the under secretary of commerce for intellectual property and the USPTO director on matters relating to the policies, goals, performance, budget and user fees of the federal trademark operation. The committee was created by the 1999 Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act.

The committee meets with senior personnel several times a year to discuss trademark issues, Samuels explains. The group then prepares an annual report that is submitted to the president, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, and the commerce secretary.

“This opportunity will provide me with vital insight into the administration of our nation's intellectual property laws,” he adds.

As director of The University of Akron's Center for Intellectual Property Law and Technology, Samuels serves as the primary contact between UA's School of Law and the intellectual property law bar and community, and organizes and coordinates the center's annual intellectual property law symposium and guest lectures.

At the University, Samuels teaches courses in trademark and unfair competition law, introduction to intellectual property law, and international intellectual property law.

From 1987 to 1993, Samuels was assistant commissioner of patents and trademarks at USPTO, where he headed trademark operations for the agency. After leaving that position he engaged in the private practice of law, and he was government relations manager for the International Trademark Association.

The University of Akron School of Law is committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship, and offers joint degrees in business, taxation, public administration and human resource management. It also offers certificate programs in litigation and intellectual property. The UA School of Law has a strong program for the concentrated study of intellectual property and technology, devoting more full-time faculty to the area and offering more courses than any law school in a six-state region.

This fall semester, in conjunction with the Graduate School, the College of Business Administration and the Division of Workforce Development and Continuing Education, the School of Law will offer a new certificate program in intellectual property management. The law school also plans to offer a master's degree in intellectual property law in the near future.

In 2002, National Jurist magazine ranked UA's School of Law as the best value of any juris doctor program in the United States, based on tuition, bar pass rate, employment rates, median grants, clinic slots and faculty-student ratio.

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